


How To Disappoint Your Father In 10 Minutes

by Kutabe



Category: Starfighter (Comic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Comedy, M/M, with feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-09-21
Packaged: 2019-07-15 00:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16051712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kutabe/pseuds/Kutabe
Summary: Breaking and entering, theft, and unexpected bonding. Just a regular day for a Sleipnir high school student.





	How To Disappoint Your Father In 10 Minutes

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Since I can never get enough high school au, that's what I wrote.  
> This is just meant to be something fun and lighthearted (plus some feelings). I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Also: I used Cain and Abel's real names, but since Deimos doesn't have a confirmed name I named him Dimitre, I hope that's not too confusing!

It was a Tuesday night, and Ethan was walking through the neighbourhood alone. School had finished a couple hours ago and he had homework to do, but he just couldn’t bring himself to go home and face his father – things had become increasingly stressful in his household after Ethan had told him that he didn’t want to follow his footsteps as a politician. Ethan had known it wasn’t what he wanted for awhile, but had only recently mustered up the courage to actually tell his father what was on his mind. He didn’t regret it – his father needed to know and understand what he truly wanted – but it definitely put a strain on their relationship and being around him was difficult.

After awhile, Ethan found himself nearing Colteron High, the rival school of the one he currently attended, Sleipnir. He’d call it a friendly rivalry, but it was quite the opposite – in fact it was ruthless, made worse by the fact that they’d lost to the Colterons every year for as long as Ethan had attended high school, and probably longer.

As Ethan came closer, he noticed two figures crouching in front of the side exit to the school. He sighed when he recognized them.

“What are you two doing?”

Alexei and Dimitre turned around. Ethan looked from them, to the door, and back again.

“I really hope I’m wrong and you two aren’t breaking into Colteron High. Do you know what would happen if you got caught?”

Alexei scoffed, walking towards Ethan. “Who knows?” he said, throwing his hands in the air. “They’ve punished me so many times, they might start getting creative.”

The unbridled cockiness of Alexei’s attitude coupled with the fact that he nearly always got away with it irritated Ethan to no end – Alexei didn’t seem to care about anything, and the thought of getting in trouble seemed only to amuse him. Naturally, he got in trouble a lot.

“Anyway, why are _you _here?” Alexei countered. “I’m guessing mister student council president didn’t come here to sneak into Colteron High and steal last year’s trophy.”__

Ethan raised his eyebrows.

_“That’s _what you two were doing? You guys are crazy.”__

__“Crazy? Or genius?”_ _

__“Crazy! What part of you thought this was a good idea!”_ _

____

“The part that said, ‘the Colterons fucking suck and it’d be fun to fuck with them.’ They don’t deserve that trophy.”

“They literally won it!”

Ethan pinched the bridge of his nose. He had enough of Alexei during school hours, he didn’t need to deal with him now. He didn’t know what to do with Alexei – no one did. It didn’t help that the teachers at Sleipnir seemed to have no interest in reaching out to him – which frustrated Ethan to no end; Alexei was definitely more capable then he appeared and yet no one cared. Ethan didn’t want to be like that. Even if Alexei was trying his hardest to be a huge asshole.

Ethan sighed.

“Listen, I don’t like the Colterons either. Their team name is literally the same as the name of the school, it’s uncreative, and yet they still win every year. But stealing their trophy isn’t going to help _us _win! You’re just going to be caught and arrested. Which I guess is fine with you, but you’re always dragging Dimitre into trouble, he follows you everywhere.”__

____

____

Alexei snorted. “Dimitre can do what he wants, I don’t control him. Right Dimitre?” He glanced toward Dimitre pointedly.

Dimitre wasn’t there.  
Dimitre wasn’t even near them.  
Dimitre was picking the lock to the school.

“Nice!” Alexei called out with a grin, walking over to Dimitre and slapping him on the back. Ethan didn’t even notice that he had left Alexei’s side, the guy was so good at sneaking around. A very useful skill for B&E. Which was what Alexei and Dimitre were doing.

“It’ll boost morale,” Dimitre said, his voice a strained whisper.

Before Ethan could reply, shouting came from behind the corner – just as Dimitre pulled the door open.

“Shit! Get inside!” Alexei whispered urgently, shoving Ethan and Dimitre into the school.

~

The lights were on. The halls were empty, quiet without students bustling through them making their way from class to class. At the other end of the hall lay what Alexei and Dimitre had come for: the trophy.

“Fuck, I didn’t think it’d be so easy,” Alexei laughed. “It’s right there. You can pick that lock, right, Dimitre?”

Dimitre nodded.

Ethan glared at Cain. “I – ”

“Am an accomplice to our crime, and if you try to leave I’ll shout and tell everyone you helped us get in here.”

“Why do you even _want_ me in here?”

__

__

____

____

“Maybe I just want to spend a little time with you princess, you thought about that?”

“Ugh.” Ethan had forgotten about the second thing that annoyed him about Alexei: if he wasn’t goading Ethan, he was incessantly flirting with him. Ethan didn’t know why but Alexei had targeted him of all people to harass; he didn’t seem to go after any other guy or girl despite the fact that many of them were definitely into his bad boy act.

Dimitre was already walking over to the cabinet. He was halfway there when voices came from around the corner, getting louder and dangerously close to where Ethan, Alexei, and Dimitre stood. Dimitre immediately dashed past Alexei and Ethan and out of sight.

_“We have to h–” _Ethan started, before Alexei clamped his hand around his mouth and pulled him into the nearby janitor’s closet.__

____

____

~

Ethan stood pressed against Alexei’s chest, Alexei’s hand still over his mouth. He wanted to protest, but knew better – the voices were coming closer.

“So, I told her she was my cousin. And she actually believed me!”

“You’re awful, man.”

“What? It’s not my fault they both were into me. I’m just giving the people what they want.”

Ethan rolled his eyes, and Alexei held back a noise of disgust. It was the two biggest assholes on the football team, Chris and Jared. Alexei hated those guys. They thought they were better than everyone just because they were good-looking and good at football – and what was worse was that people _believed _them. Unfortunately, they didn’t seem to be leaving the hallway.__

____

____

“So, which one are you taking to Homecoming?”

“I was thinking I would ask both and do that sitcom thing where I run back and forth between the two dates – ”

This was ridiculous. Alexei finally took his hand off of Ethan’s mouth, and Ethan took a deep breath. They would be stuck in there for a while.

The janitor’s closet was packed with as much it could fill while still allowing human entrance; they couldn’t see what exactly was in there, but Alexei definitely felt a mop pressing against his spine and the rim of a plastic bucket digging into his calf. The closet wasn’t built for two people, and Alexei and Ethan could barely fit in the small space that was allowed. They were stuck.

“So…this is cozy,” Alexei whispered. Ethan couldn’t see him in the darkness, but he was sure Alexei was smirking.

“Why are those guys even here? It’s after school. The doors were locked.”

“Maybe they forgot something and the janitor let them in.” Alexei shrugged.

“Probably. Well, there goes your brilliant plan, I guess.”

Alexei chuckled and pulled Ethan tight against him. Ethan was suddenly very aware of who he was with, the position he was in, and the fact that he couldn’t get out of it. He didn’t have issues with being self-conscious, but Alexei definitely brought out sides of him he didn’t know existed.

“New plans. You and me. This closet.” Alexei brought his lips to Ethan’s ear. “What do you want to do?”

“Not what you’re thinking,” Ethan whispered, blushing furiously and suddenly feeling very thankful that Alexei couldn’t make out his face clearly in the darkness. He didn’t like how much Alexei affected him, didn’t like how Alexei knew that he affected him, and didn’t like that he had no idea how to stop it. Alexei made Ethan feel things that he didn’t want to admit and being trapped in a closet with him certainly wasn’t going to help Ethan deny them.

“Really? Because you’re always looking at me like you’re waiting for me to get in your pants– ”

“I am not!”

“–Just ask anyone in our grade.”

_“What?” ___

____

____

_“When are Alexei and Ethan gonna fuck? Are they already fucking?’ _Seriously, you should hear them.” Ethan could barely make out Alexei grinning at him. He didn’t sound like he was lying.__

____

____

“I can’t believe they were saying that this whole time…” Ethan said softly, thinking back on past interactions with his classmates. Did they all think that? 

“See? They already think we fuck, so if we actually do no one’s going to bat an eye. Delinquent troublemaker Alexei won’t tarnish your golden reputation,” Alexei said, snorting.

Ethan paused.

“Do you really think of me like that? You think I care about that?” He spoke quietly, looking up at the other boy. 

“Well _don’t _you?” Alexei scoffed. “Look at you. You’re the model student: 4.0 GPA, student council president, nice to everyone, God, you probably…make Wonderbras for the homeless or something.”__

____

____

Ethan giggled quietly. “Make Wonderbras for the homeless?”

“I don’t know!”

Ethan stopped laughing and began to speak sincerely, looking Alexei in the eyes.

“I don’t do those things because I care about what other people think of me. I do them because I care what I think of me and I want to be the best person I can be. And some of it is just…wanting to be nice to others, Alexei. That’s normal.”

“Normal for you, maybe.”

There was silence between them for a moment before Alexei spoke again.

“So, why were you walking around town looking all sad and shit?” he asked.

“I looked sad?”

“Pretty much.”

Ethan paused. Was he going to spill his feelings about his family issues to the guy who regularly harassed him and who probably found the solution to all his own issues in the bottom of a glass?

Ethan was tired and frustrated. He guessed he was going to do that.

“It’s my dad. He always puts so much pressure on me to perform well in, well...everything, and he really wants me to go into politics. He’s angry at me now because I told him I wasn’t going to do that. He isn’t yelling at me anymore, but he’s being really hostile and I don’t want to deal with it, so I didn’t go home.”

Silence followed. It’s not like Ethan expected to be comforted anyway.

“...Fuck him, man.”

Ethan looked up at Alexei.

“No one should control what you do but you. Personal freedom is important. You can make your own choices and he just has to deal with it. He can’t tell you what you’re going to be doing for the rest of your life. Fuck that.”

Ethan smiled slightly. “...Thanks, Alexei. That’s actually kind of nice.”

“I can be nice.”

“Yeah, I know. What about you? Do your parents care about what you’re going to do?”

Alexei went silent for a minute, and Ethan suddenly wondered if he’d asked the wrong question; he could feel Alexei’s tension pressed against his body. He was about to apologize when the boy spoke suddenly, quietly:

“No, they don’t give a fuck. Never have. That’s why I get away with so much, it doesn’t really matter to them.”

“Oh…Alexei, I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine, I don’t really care. I’d rather it be like this than be in your situation with people telling me what to do.” Alexei paused. “Thanks for caring, though, I guess.”

There was another silence. Ethan had suspected that Alexei’s home life wasn’t great, but to have Alexei tell him about it was different. He wasn’t sure what it meant but it made Ethan feel closer to him, just a little bit. They were already closer than one would expect, somehow running into each other often enough that their back-and-forth became a kind of routine for them. It wasn’t a large town, but it did seem like the universe was insistently thrusting them into each other’s lives. They couldn’t escape each other. 

Like right now. In a literal sense. They were still standing chest-to-chest, and Ethan could feel the warmth of Alexei’s body through his shirt, feel Alexei’s breathing on his neck. Ethan had never been this close to him before, and as the silence went on he felt a growing urge to do something stupid – something he would definitely regret tomorrow.

A few seconds passed, then Alexei whispered to him: “They’ve been gone for awhile now, we should leave.”

No response.

“Etha–”

His sentence was cut short as Ethan’s lips met his. Alexei was caught by surprise, but quickly wrapped his arms around Ethan, pulling him tighter in the dark closet. Ethan’s kiss was soft yet urgent, definitely an impulse decision on his part but Alexei wasn’t about to stop him. Alexei deepened the kiss and Ethan responded in earnest, gripping the front of Alexei’s t-shirt and letting his mind clear itself of distractions – submitting himself to the moment.

Eventually, Ethan pulled away, looking a bit vulnerable as he met Alexei’s eyes. Ethan's lips were kiss-swollen, his face probably flushed in the darkness.

“I don’t reject you because you’re bad for my reputation, Alexei. I reject you because you’re an arrogant jerk with a lot of potential and it disappoints me that you never use it. Try asking me out like a normal person next time instead of harassing me.”

Alexei was stunned. With that, Ethan opened the door and walked out.

~

“Where’s Dimitre?” Abel asked, looking around. Dimitre had run into another hallway when the two jocks came by and was now nowhere to be seen.

“Eh, he disappears like that sometimes. We should just get the trophy and leave,” Alexei replied, walking to Ethan’s side.

“You _still _want to get the trophy?”__

____

____

“Well yeah, that’s what we came here for.”

“You’re unbelievable.”

“Wait, look.”

Alexei pointed to the trophy cabinet. The large golden trophy that once stood in the center of the cabinet was gone, the only trace of it a circle left in the dust.

“Dimitre actually did it. We stole a fucking trophy from the Colterons.” Alexei laughed, wrapping an arm around Ethan. “Alright. Let’s go home.”

“We’re just going to leave Dimitre here?” Ethan gestured to the empty halls of enemy territory.

“Like I said, he disappears sometimes. We’ll come to school tomorrow and find a new trophy on the shelf at school, and new mystery for our shitty principal to solve.”

Suddenly, there was a tapping on a locker behind them. Dimitre was standing there with the trophy, calmly waiting for them as if he hadn’t just broken into a building and stolen something.

“See? There he is. Let’s go home.” Alexei’s arm remained around Ethan, and Dimitre eyed them suspiciously – Ethan blushed and removed it, walking hurriedly toward the exit. 

Alexei ran to catch up to Ethan and was about to speak before Ethan interrupted him:

“I’ll go on a date with you if you ask me properly.”

“You mean bring you a bouquet of roses or something?”

“Just say ‘Hey, can I go on a date with you.’ Or something.”

Ethan stopped once they reached the sidewalk.

“Or maybe I’m being stupid, and you don’t want a date, you just want to get in my pants. Maybe I look easy to you– ”

“Oh, you look like you’re aching for it.”

“ –but I’m not. So, if that’s all you want, please…just don’t bother.”

Ethan gave him a meaningful look, then began walking in the other direction. Alexei stood there, thinking. He didn’t usually do dating. Not serious dating anyway, not the kind Ethan would want – usually just people to pass the time with. And that’s what he wanted with Ethan too…at least initially. Over time he’d kind of grown to…like Ethan. He wasn’t sure what that meant yet, but for once he wasn’t entirely opposed to what Ethan was suggesting. Though he would be lying if he said he didn’t have ulterior motives.

Alexei caught up to Ethan and grabbed his arm.

“Ethan,” he said. Ethan stopped.

“Will you go on a date with me?”

Ethan was surprised. He honestly hadn’t expected Alexei to actually do it – and to do it without being a huge ass about it. In fact, Alexei actually looked…sincere. For once.

“...Yes.”

Alexei grinned. “Just don’t expect any Disney shit from me, okay.”

“Trust me, I won’t. We can ride my motorcycle to that big hill near the edge of town on Friday, is that okay with you?” Ethan asked.

“You can drive a motorcycle? Fuck yeah.”

Ethan smiled at Alexei. “Great. It’s a plan.”

“You mean a date,” Alexei corrected Ethan.

“A date,” Ethan repeated, and they parted, making their way toward their respective homes. Ethan chuckled softly as he walked: his father sure wasn’t going to approve of this one.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic so any feedback would be appreciated!  
> I might write more and create a series in this universe depending on whether or not I have the time and whether people like this.


End file.
